Sochi Winter Olympics Recap — Julia Mancuso Wins Bronze Medal

An American skier continued to etch her place in Olympic history on Monday, and the Dutch rose to the top of the medal count. Here's a recap of the day's action in Sochi:

Julia Mancuso Won a Bronze Medal

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American Julia Mancuso had a half-second lead after the downhill portion of the women's super-combined competition in Sochi on Monday, but German skier Maria Hoefl-Riesch used a speedy slalom run to capture the gold. Hoefl-Riesch finished 0.40 of a second faster than silver medalist Nicole Hosp of Austria and 0.53 ahead of Mancuso, who earned the bronze.

It was Mancuso's fourth Olympic medal, two more than any other American female skier in history.

U.S. Women's Hockey Off to a Perfect Start

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The U.S. women's hockey team drubbed Switzerland, 9-0, on Monday behind two goals from Amanda Kessel. The Americans tallied three goals in 55 seconds of the first period to turn the game into a laugher early; the U.S. led 5-0 after the first period.

The American team is now 2-0 in preliminary round play. U.S. rival Canada won 3-0 over Finland to improve to 2-0 as well.

The Olympic Halfpipe Needs Work

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A day before American Shaun White was scheduled to vie for his third straight gold medal in the halfpipe, officials canceled practice on the snowboarding structure. Many riders complained about the angle of the structure's walls and the granular snow on its surface.

Additionally, warmer-than-expected temperatures in Russia have made the situation worse. Officials ordered work crews to make changes. They still expect the competition to go off as scheduled.

U.S. Luger Erin Hamlin in Medal Contention

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American Erin Hamlin was in third place after two runs in the women's luge on Monday. If the U.S. Olympian can hold on to the spot, she can become the first woman in her nation's history to win an Olympic medal in the singles luge.

Germany's Natalie Geisenberger held a firm grasp on first place in the event, with teammate, and Vancouver Games' gold medalist, Tatjana Huefner in second. The final two runs were scheduled for Tuesday night.

Medal Count

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The Netherlands swept the men's 500-meter speedskating medals to pull into a tie with Norway atop the overall medal count. Michel Mulder claimed gold with teammates Jan Smeekens and Ronald Mulder grabbing the silver and bronze respectively. The U.S. was locked in a three-way tie with Canada and Russia with five total medals.